After a well-attended town hall meeting in Pella, a reporter asked his reaction to the Family Leader’s endorsement of Rick Perry. Santorum said he wasn’t certain of that, and he hoped to get the endorsement. “It’ll help whoever gets it,” he said, noting the group had spent a long time considering the candidates.

A few minutes later, another reporter contributed that he’d heard the conservative Christian group had actually decided to remain neutral.

No endorsement is better than an endorsement of Perry, Santorum remarked gamely.

Not long after that, a campaign staffer gave a whoop. The Family Leader’s CEO, Bob Vander Plaats, and vice chairman, Chuck Hurley, had given their personal endorsements to Santorum. That’s even better than no endorsement, Santorum joked.

“I think it shows that we’re the candidate that has the momentum, that’s resonating to the people of Iowa,” Santorum said. “I think they’re catching that and seeing that this is the campaign that’s going to be the conservative alternative.”

Santorum added that he’d heard lots of rumors about the endorsement, which has been in the works since the Family Leader’s forum the weekend before Thanksgiving.